I wasn't very impressed by The Cake Bible from RLB and The Perfect Cake by Susan Gold Purdy.

I've just ordered Great Cakes by Carole Walter and
Faites votre pâtisserie by Gaston Lenôtre (I guess that would be the French version of Le Notre Pastries). Shroomgirl, what are your favorite recipes from Le Notre?

LeNotre....pastry creams, pate a chou, once in a very blue moon the broiche raisin rolls with pastry cream and bourbon soaked white raisins....country apple tart....caramel almond puffs....
I don't use it exstensively any more, just mainly the components to combine into my own creations....the country apple tart is phenominal and so easy.

Joy of Cooking is such a basic, the newer one doesn't have lemon bars...go figure.

These look great. I'll take a look at the Malgieri and the Daley first.
Of course my husband and I have both decided we need to lose a few pounds :( , so practicing will be a little difficult. But my colleagues probably won't mind being guinea pigs. :D

Emily

______________________

"If you are not killing plants, you are not really stretching yourself as a gardener." -- J. C. Raulston, American Horticulturist

As an added bonus, one of the advisory chefs listed in the back of the book is my Breads instructor and he is also a co-instructor for my Custards, Creams, and Fillings class. This can be a bonus for you too, because I can ask your questions directly!!!!!

Professional Baking vProfessional Pastry Chef

I have been looking at ads for Professional Baking (by Wayne Gisslen) and the Professional Pastry Chef (Bo Friburg) online and can't determine the relative merits of each book. If anyone has familiarity with both books, I would really appreciate hearing your comments. I am not a very experienced baker and do not often bake for more than 10 people at a time, often it's for much fewer people! However, I like to try making new things and would like a comprehensive reference book for baking. Thanks.

Re: Professional Baking vProfessional Pastry Chef

Brook,
I have them both and use them BOTH quite often. Gisslen's book in my school textbook. It has LOTS of color step by step photographs in almost every recipe whereas Friberg's has none except for a color photo section that makes you drool uncontrollably. There are many illustrations and templates, however. Both books are indispensable in my opinion.

Friberg's Pastry book is about twice as thick as Gisslen's. The recipes I've encountered in both have been nothing short of wonderful. I just made three batches of Cinnamon Ice Cream yesterday from Friberg's book. (Page 720)

My advice to you.... Get Both!!!!

If you have any specific questions, please feel free to ask. I will be happy to answer any you may have.

Koko, I don't know the difference between the 3rd and the 4th edition. I have the 4th. I love it more than I can tell you. It really is a reference that I am lost without. I can also say the same about the Gisslen book too. These are great books.

(If you don't have a vanilla bean, you can replace it with vanilla extract. That step comes in a bit)

Scald cream with the sticks (and bean if you're using one). Let infuse off of the heat for 30 minutes.

10 Egg Yolks
10 oz sugar
2 teaspoons of Cinnamon

Mix eggs, sugar, and cinnamon together in a stainless bowl. When cream is done infusing, slowly temper the cream into eggs, sugar, cinnamon mixture. (Remove the bean, leaving the seeds behind at this point if you've used one)

Cook over double boiler till nape' (I did it till it reached 165 degrees) while stirring constantly. Add two teaspoons of Vanilla Extract if you haven't used a bean at this point. Chill overnight. Remove cinnamon sticks and turn mixture in an ice cream freezer. Freeze when desired consistency is reached.

There is a screwy procedure if you use a bean or not. I hope it makes sense.

I have a Cuisinart Ice-20. I have three freezer bowls too. These are extra money but needed because of the long refreeze time they have. One freezer bowl produces about 1 & 1/2 quarts. The recipe yields about 5 cups. About one quart too much for a maxed out batch in the Ice 20. I use two freeze cycles (two freeze bowls) per recipe. Otherwise you will just have to refreeze the bowl and finish it later in the day. I am too busy for that. LOL

I don't know the exact spelling of the word. I've seen it Nap, Napper, Nappe, Nape'.

What it means is that the consistency of the sauce or mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. In sauces class, it was said to be able to move freely on a plate when tilted but stable when left alone.

It just refers to the thickness of the mixture. In this recipe, I believe that they are saying nape' to make sure the eggs yolks cook for sanitation purposes. (This is why I cooked them to 165.)

Which "Old" Joy? I've got a facsimile of the first edition 1931 and copies of the 1964 and 1997 editions.
And what changed in the newer edition that came out? :confused: I don't think I've baked from any of them (yet :) ).

Emily

______________________

"If you are not killing plants, you are not really stretching yourself as a gardener." -- J. C. Raulston, American Horticulturist

comparison of Professional Baking and Professional Pastry Chef, please

RJ, I found an index online for Gisslen's Professional Baking, but not for Friburg's Professional Pastry Chef ... how much overlap is there between the two books? How would you compare the books with regard to explicitness and difficulty of the recipes (Does one book or the other assume a large basis of knowledge and leave out explanations of terms and techniques)? Do the recipes in both books typically produce 10 or so servings or does one offer smaller portions? (I read somewhere that reducing dessert recipes is tricky because you can't simply cut them down to the numbers of servings you want.) Also, do the recipes in each book call for a kitchen armed with a multitude of esoteric machines and pans of every shape and size? ... If you had to choose only one of these two books, which one would you choose? (And, if you have any energy left, could you please say why?) I am sorry to deluge you with all these questions, but I don't have access to them in person and would have to buy them blind. Thank you very much in advance!

Well Brook,
The Gisslen book seems to be more user friendly. The full color glossy pictures alone set it apart in that manner. It is written with a little more pizzaz than Friberg's book. Every single recipe is written in US measurements (oz, tsp, lb, etc.) and in Metric as well (g and ml).

Both books have usage areas for specific kitchen equipment - Certain size cutters, spatulas, tart pans, etc. As for the termonology, the Gisslen book is more like a school textbook so there are review terms and chapeter objectives as the book progresses. The Friberg book does not. This is not a bad thing. Both book's termonology is written to be easily understood by anyone with baking and pastry knowledge. Recipes in both are equally impressive. I've had great sucess with both.

I just got a Cuisinart ICE 20 from my husband (who loves Ice cream) for Christmas - how thoughtful of him.

I had checked the recommendations of the King Arthur Flour Baking circle, and there didn't seem to be any problems with a particular brand. Amazon had a reconditioned Cuisinart, and he got a second bowl on sale, too. If you use 10 egg yolks, there is just a touch too much cream for the bowl.

I started with a recipe from Women's Day Old Fashioned desserts, through Gordon Ramsay and Bo Friberg. While the 1/2 and 1/2 stays the same, sugar and egg yolks vary (from 3 to 12 - they've all been good) I tried adding some fresh blackberries adn a splach of Chambord - ummm. Next I think I'll make the cinnamon (with 1 or 2 less egg yolks) to serve with warm apple crisp.
It's been so cold here I just set the bowls on the porch :eek:

RJ -- My computer has been in the shop - grrr! I wanted to thank you for taking the time to type out the tables of contents for the Gisslen and Friburg books. You're right, I'll try and get both books when I have enough pennies saved! Thanks again for your help. Brook

Basic baking

I actually like the Cake Bible and the Pie & Pastry Bible. But I've been baking for many years. I always direct new bakers to The Fannie Farmer Baking Book. Marion Cunninham has great American type recipies and the master recipes give great step by step beginner instructions. If you are a pro the other texts would be more useful, but this book will start you in the right direction. No fancy pictures though!